In Your Company
by kate avalanche
Summary: Summer break has come, and Haruhi plans a camping trip with her father.  He invites the twins, and in exchange for them coming, Haruhi has to give something too.  [HikaruXHaruhi HikaXHaru HXH]
1. Playing Dress Up

Author's Note: I don't own these characters. Bisco Hatori does. I don't own anything but the plot...which I am a little proud of. :) And...have I forgotten anything? Oh, I have to read Crime and Punishment, Antigone, and Oedipus Rex for my english class(CURSE YOU AP) so my updating of this story might be slowish. Gomen... :(

* * *

"Haruhiiiiiii, that was the deal!"

"But it still feels strange. I don't think it's right that-"

From behind closed doors, an exasperated sigh cut off the second voice, "Look, our mother offered! I think she's ecstatic that we have actual friends; do you want to disappoint her?"

"Hikaru, putting it like that won't make me feel guilty enough to do it."

"At least let me come back there and-"

"No."

Haruhi and Hikaru stood in a walk-in closet roughly the size of Haruhi's entire home, hidden from each other by a folding screen. On the rod behind the screen hung a dozen or so dresses, all tailored and carefully selected to flatter the girl's figure of course. Haruhi, in only her underclothes, looked at them, flummoxed. Dresses were more her dad's thing, she always felt most comfortable in boys' clothes. However, she had been forced into promising to not only go with the twins to a "society function", but to dress for the occasion. In exchange, the twins would come camping with Haruhi and her father-which had been her father's idea originally, so how she was roped into the whole thing was still fuzzy to her.

"All right," the girl stepped out from behind the screen, wearing the simplest dress available to her. Periwinkle blue, the colour played up her big brown eyes. The squared off neckline, cap sleeves, and the slight flare of the skirt were just right, and Hikaru felt pink rising to his cheeks and-no doubt- clashing with his hair.

Haruhi, seeing her friend's distress, cocked her head to the side, "Are you all right? Here, stand still." She smoothed his bangs away from his face and rested her forehead against his.

He felt himself lean into the touch and hated himself for it. It wasn't fair that she could be this oblivious while he was so painfully aware. At least at that moment the pain was endurable, almost pleasing. Almost.

"You seem cool enough…still though, you should sit down for-"

"I thought Kyouya was mommy," Hikaru shook his head, smiling slightly, "We don't have time for that, you still need something…" He turned, and motioned for her to follow.

"Jewelry Hikaru?" The redhead nodded solemnly, then grinned, holding up a tiara that could easily have repaid Haruhi's debts to "mommy" and covered her school tuition for her entire high school career.

"No"

"Oh! But-"

"No."

She looked at the array of jewelry; worried Hikaru might try to cover her in it like a character from 1001 Arabian Nights. She looked up, surprised as the boy sighed in resignation, "No, you're right. You don't need stuff like that to look beautif-" he stopped abruptly, looking as though he's like the earth to swallow him up right about then. His faint pink changed to Barbie fuchsia, and then deepened to dark scarlet, almost burgundy, if it were possible for a human to attain that particular shade. Hanging his head, he silently held out his hand and dropped something into Haruhi's palm. A long, but simple strand of pearls.

"Oh," the girl said, a touch of pink in her cheeks as well, "Thank you. These are lovely."

She looped them over her head twice, adjusting it so that the first loop fit close to her nick, and the second dangled down just past her bust. In a rare moment of girlishness, she held her arms out and spun in a circle, smiling as the skirt fluttered out, stopped abruptly when the longer loop of pearls thwumped softly against Hikaru's arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to-"

"Haruhi, it's all right," he said, smiling weakly. He wanted to twine his fingers in that necklace, to pull her close and-no. Can't think like that. She's on the outside, he thought to himself, repeating the old lie. It hadn't been a lie at first, he and Kaoru _had_ been each other's everything, and everyone else was "outside". Somehow the girl who stood before him had changed that. It made him uncomfortable and giddy in turns, but more worried than anything else. He knew he had changed since Haruhi broke the wall the twins had put up, he thought for the better. If she left, would he change back? Without the Beauty, does the Beast lose his reason to be anything else? He almost laughed out loud at that last thought. Beauty and the Beast analogies, what next? A quiet voice broke through his reverie-

"Hikaru, aren't we supposed to be out there by now?"

As if in answer to her question, Kaoru burst into the room, all smiles once he saw the two "Come on Haruhi! Hikaru, you two can't leave me all alone out there, I think someone's trying to pawn off two of his daughters on me at once!"

Hikaru laughed, "That's new. But then, you've had at least one engagement offer per week since the day we started middle school."

"Which is why I need you two!" and with that, Kaoru grasped the wrists of his brother and friend, guiding them into an even bigger room, crowded not with clothes, but people.


	2. Not Quite A Confession

A/N:Holy crap, this was fast. I honestly didn't expect to have the second chapter up for a while, but yay me. :) I'm not crazy about how I wrote the twin's mother, she reminds me a little of Sonomi, Tomoyo's mother from CCS...but oh yeah, I don't own any of these people. Wouldn't that be nifty though?

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"Haruhi-chan!" the twin's mother, Hitachiin-san, glided over, "I was beginning to wonder what Hikaru was doing with you back there! Oh, you chose the periwinkle; I had a feeling you might. Did you pick the pearls or did Hikaru? Either way, they look lovely. I'll make a note of that for the show…Oh dear, duty calls," and with all that said in one breath, the elegant -though hyper- woman followed another woman who had been trying to get her attention.

"She's right Hikaru, what _were_ you doing to Haruhi? And without me even." Kaoru said, pretending to be offended.

"We – nothing," the redhead spluttered, "Haruhi took a little longer than expected to pick an outfit…"

The brunette nodded, confirming her friend's story. When she heard strings begin, she smiled, "Kaoru, they're starting to play," her face lit up like a child's.

He nodded, extending an arm, "Would the lady honour me?" his features in a perfect mask of seriousness. Haruhi accepted, allowing herself to be led by Kaoru as the quartet began an up-tempo waltz.

"Seriously now, what did you two do back there? Hikaru seems worried about something," he asked her once they were out of his brother's hearing.

"I'm not sure Kaoru, he started to say something, but stopped himself…"

"Mmm," was all Kaoru said for the remainder of the song.

The pair clapped politely along with the rest of the guests, and as the musicians began a slower tune, Kaoru pushed Haruhi gently to Hikaru. Ignoring the quick pleading look his brother threw him, he forced himself to walk away. _It's for his own good; he has to tell her eventually. _He told himself. He hoped he was doing the right thing.

"So shall we – would you like to"

"Come on Hikaru," Haruhi smiled, her hand on his wrist, guiding him onto the dance floor to a spot where there was more breathing room. Hikaru stood there a moment, unsure of what to do. When he felt his hands being placed on Haruhi's waist, he blinked in surprise. When her hands looped themselves behind his head, his attention jerked back to reality.

"Hikaru, are you all right?" he felt her brown eyes looking into his gold ones, and the same daydream he'd had earlier played again in his head. This time though, he acted on it.

One hand slid from her waist, twisting itself in her necklace. With a quick tug, he closed his eyes and hoped for the best.

A few moments late, Haruhi looked at him with unfocused eyes and pink cheeks, "What was that all about?"

The redhead looked up wide-eyed and terrified at what he had just done. As the last chords of the song faded out, he stepped back, then walked as quickly as humanly possible to the hall, where he broke into a full sprint.

The click of his bedroom door had always seemed so loud, but Hikaru barely heard it through the pounding in his ears. His vision blurring and eyes growing glassy, he looked up and saw Kaoru looking anxious.

"Did you tell her?"

Hikaru shook his head, slumped into his brother's arms, and told him what happened.

"So she's probably figured it out," Hikaru said miserably, "right?"

"Mmm, think who we're dealing with though."

Oh. Kaoru was right. It was Haruhi they were talking about…


	3. Adorable And Innocent

"Where is my adorable daughter?" a man with long brown hair and a white shirt with the sickle and hammer peered around a stack of clothes and camping gear.

"Dad? Hi, I was organizing everything we'll need. If we're staying in your friend's cabin, why do we need sleeping bags? And a tent? And a padlock?" she looked especially confused about the last item.

"You don't think I'd let those boys near my sweet innocent Haruhi! They're probably ad bad as that BLONDE. I don't know why my adorable daughter invited them…"

"_You_ invited them Dad," Haruhi sighed, knowing her father wasn't listening. When she heard her cell phone ring in her pocket, she was glad for the distraction, "Hello?"

"Haruhi, we've been sitting in our car outside for about ten minutes, where is the valet?"

"There isn't one."

"Oh," the phone was silent for a moment, "So these lines are for us to park our cars ourselves?"

"Yes Hikaru. When you're done, come up." She clicked her phone off and turned to her dad, who was still muttering about her adorable innocence.

She resumed her organizing, which really consisted more of weeding out bizarre things her father believed they would need like a waffle iron and the ridiculous amount of shoes he had packed for her, and a few minutes later, a sharp rap was heard on the door. She stood to answer and before the door was even half open, she was engulfed in a tangle of arms and cries of "Haruhiiiiiiiii!"

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A/N: Sorry for the short-tasticness. And am I the only one who thinks Ranka is a lot like Hues from FMA? Ok, my sister pointed that out, but yeah. And quick question. Should it be just the twins, or everyone? I'm torn, review and tell me!!


	4. Reunion

The brunette couldn't help but smile. The weather had been horrible the last few weeks, and instead of going camping just one week after the party at the twins', they were only just now, almost a month later, on their way. And as much as they drove her insane, she had missed her classmates.

"Do you have your things packed and ready?" Haruhi asked, looking out her window to see their car.

"Yeah, but it's already in our car, shall we just follow you and your dad to the place?" Kaoru said.

"No, it's no trouble, we've got some space."

"Why would we bother you with our things?" the redhead said blandly. Too blandly. Haruhi leaned further out of the window to see that the car resembled a game of Tetris, with seemingly endless bags crammed every which way into every imaginable crevice.

"…Kaoru, how did you two get here if the car is that full?"

"We were _very _close," the twins grinned as Kaoru pulled Hikaru close, one hand on his waist and the other stroking his brother's cheek. Haruhi sighed, giving up on her friends. It seemed they didn't even need an audience of hormone crazed yaoi fangirls squealing rabidly to put on their bizarre acts. As she turned however, she saw her father peering around the doorframe curiously. Whatever. As long as he didn't squeal.

"In any event, we can fit you two in the car, would you like to ride with us so, if your driver has to hit the brakes, you two don't die?"

"Haruhi, we're touched that you care," the boys then circled her as they had done in the cookie incident. _That_ however, Ranka was not interested in letting go on. Haruhi felt her father's hate practically radiating in their direction, and squeezed herself out of the Hitachiin's grip.

"All right, here we go," she said firmly as she pushed them out the door, booting her father's last few bags out after them, "Put those in the trunk and we'll be right out!" she called as she turned to hurry her father along too.

* * *

A/N: Phmeh. I'm sorry this is so short. I have the next chapter written, but it's insanely bad and I'll be maiming it a couple of times before it's good enough to show people. And, as I got several differing requests about whether or not the rest of the host club should show up, I've decided to go in a completely different direction than I had originally planned. It'll be good, I promise. Though Tamaki fangirls might not like me much. And sorry for the twincest bits. Yaoi fangirl I am, but incest is pushing it a bit. Still, that's who they are, so I can't ignore it entirely. Ugh, why am I still talking? Review please? Give me something to look foward to, I might write faster, haha. Bye for now.


	5. Dai Hin Min

A/N: That took longer than I wanted and this chapter is shorter than I'd hoped. Working on the next one as we speak though. And yes, the number mentioned at the end of this chapter is right. Just read, you'll get what I mean. And hugs to all my reviewers, you guys cheer me up and make me write. Much love to all. :)

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"Everyone in?" Ranka turned in his seat, sending suspicious looks at the boys on either side of his precious, adorable daughter. They in turn, shot him wide-eyed innocent looks, which on their faces only made them look like they were plotting something evil. Which they probably were. Satisfied that everything was ready, the man eased on the gas and off they went. 

At first, the twins were well behaved. In fact, Haruhi was becoming slightly uncomfortable about that. She knew the Hikaru and Kaoru, and they had never shown any ability to be well behaved in circumstances that they found boring. She told herself they were trying not to piss off her father, but knew that was a stretch.

Haruhi leaned to her left, whispering, "Hikaru…are you two all right? You aren't bored or anything?"

"Now why would you ask something like that?" he batted his eyes precociously.

"You know darling brother of mine, _I _could use a little entertainment," Kaoru said, leaning over so that he was directly in front of Haruhi.

"Hmm, what can I do about that, oh I know!" Hikaru pulled out a deck of cards from a pocket. Clearly they had set this up earlier; their feigned surprise was about as obvious as it got. "Shall we play a game? Say…Dai Hin Min."

Haruhi had had bad experiences in the past with Dai Hin Min **(1)** and was wary of playing with the twins, who were not known for honesty and _were _known for their love of pranks. However, she had been getting bored as well, and despite her knowing there was no way this would end well, she agreed.

"Aww, Haruhi, you're such a good sport," they smiled wickedly.

"Shut up and deal."

At the end of the game, Haruhi was, of course, the poor man...girl. Kaoru had ended as the average or common man, and Hikaru had won, being the very rich man. As the rules went, the winner, or very rich man, was allowed to give the poor man one command. Haruhi bristled at the possibilities, knowing they were probably only the tip of the twins' twisted iceberg.

After a moment of silence, Haruhi looked at Hikaru, "…so? What have I got to do?"

The car was unnaturally silent as Hikaru looked up, "Nothing. Right now at least. Maybe later."

Kaoru's eyes widened as he looked at his brother in confusion. Hikaru had been acting a little…off lately, but Kaoru hadn't thought it was anything too pressing and had not paid too much attention. Since Haruhi was between them, instead of resting his forehead against his brother's, he reached his hand over and laid it on of the boy's head.

"Are you feeling all right?"

Hikaru shrugged away his brother's hand and concern, "I'm fine! I just can't think of anything good right now!" With that, he stared sullenly out of his window, feigning interest in the cars whizzing by. Haruhi and Kaoru looked at each other and silently agreed to drop the matter for the time being.

After about an hour passed in relative silence, Ranka looked back with a smile, "Look out the window. We're here."

Kaoru looked over at Haruhi, who had fallen half asleep. "Wake up, we're here," he said, shaking her shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, hi. Hikaru, could you lean over a little? I can't reach my buckle, I think you're sitting on it."

The redhead nearly jumped out of the seat, bashing his head against the roof of the car. _Dammit Hikaru, it's just Haruhi, since when are you so jumpy around her?_ He yelled inwardly, but knew the answer.

The four grabbed the luggage from the trunk and started up the steps to the cabin's front door. Halfway up though, Haruhi saw her father making a strange face.

"What's wrong?"

"I thought I saw someone moving in the window…"

Haruhi whirled around to see the twins making innocent faces, then barreled up past her father. Sure enough, the second she reached the top step, the door was flung open, and standing behind it were three familiar faces.

* * *

(1) Dai Hin Min - I assume most of you know what this is already, since it appears in Ouran, as well as Fruits Basket and I think in Meru Puri also. However, for people who don't know or don't quite get it, it is a card game for three or more players played with a standard 52-card pack. The jokers may be used as wilds. The objective of the game is to be the first person to have no cards by playing stronger cards than the person before. Each round, the previous round's winner will be the _daihugo_ (or _daifugo_, rich man) and will earn various advantages as defined by the rules. The last person to have no cards is the _daihinmin_ (poor man). 

Yes, I got that from Wikipedia. I love it so.


	6. Here Comes the Rain Again

A/N: finally, some fluff! ooh yeah, and I still don't own these people. 'cause if I did, there would be NO tamaXharu implications. He's a sweetie, but Hikaru's better.

* * *

"Haaaaaaaaaaaru-chan!" a high voice came as a small blonde figure threw itself at Haruhi. She looked down, "Honey-sempai!" Smiling, she set down the luggage and hugged her senior. "So if you're here," she looked inside and saw two figures, one leaning against the doorjamb with the faintest hint of a smirk and another sitting on the couch, his face betraying no emotion, as usual. Haruhi's brow wrinkled in confusion., "Kyouya…where's Tamaki?"

"I'm not entirely sure I want to tell you."

"Oh…ok."

"_But if Mommy is going, Daddy has to go too! And Daddy hasn't seen his adorable daughter Haruhi is so long!"_

_"No."_

_"But Kyouyaaaaaaaaaa"_

_"No."_

_From out of the shadows came several members of the Ootori police force. Within seconds, Tamaki was off to sleepy-land, giggling to himself on the guest bed._

"Mori-sempai, Kyouya-sempai, hi! I know I saw Honey around here just a second ago…" the twins had caught up to Haruhi and were setting the bags they had carried down by the fireplace. The sound of wheels snapping twigs and rustling pine needles signaled that the twins' car filled to bursting with their luggage had arrived as well. One look out the window and Mori and Honey were traipsing down the staircase to help the others move the remaining bags.

Haruhi sighed. There was no way this was going to be a relaxing vacation.

Ranka sighed dramatically, sinking into the couch, "Who in the world brings that much luggage when we'll only be here three days?"

Haruhi threw her father a sidelong glance, "Dad, you only carried two bags. And those were yours," looking out the window at the rapidly darkening sky, she said, "Is it really that late already?"

"Hmm? Haruhi, look at the clock, it's only 3. It's just going to rain. You didn't check the weather, but you were going to go camping?" Kyouya said, his tone incredulous.

"oh…well, I'm tired anyway. I think I'll take a nap." The twins nodded in agreement. They had, after all, carried almost all of their luggage, which could have easily stocked a good-sized clothing boutique. The girl turned back, "Alone."

"Aww Haruhiiiiiii"

Your room is next door." She pointed and then disappeared behind her door.

Hikaru rubbed the towel over his almost-dry hair and yawned widely. There was something he loved about a hot shower in the middle of the day, it made him drowsy and comfortable and generally pleased with the world. With the hand not occupied with the towel, he pushed the door to the bedroom open quietly, trying to make sure that, if Kaoru were already asleep, he didn't wake him. Waking him from his nap wasn't as suicidal was waking Honey or Kyouya, but it did make Hikaru's nap much less fun.

His bare feet padded softly over the area rug, worn from use but still in good condition. He draped the slightly damp towel over the back of a chair and curled up beneath the covers, already warmed by the other body beneath them.

Hikaru however, was chilled from the water still on his body wicking away heat. He slid further into the bed, hoping to borrow some of his brother's warmth, when he noticed something. His brother always smelled like sandalwood and his favourite tea. The person next to him smelled faintly of cinnamon and coffee **(1)**.

"Mmrph, Tamaki-sempai, go away. Some daughters **don't** take naps with Daddy."

Golden eyes shot open. Rain beat against the windows, and a flash of light threw the face next to his into view. Brown hair. Softer lines than Kaoru's. Subtle curves noticeable even beneath the thin blanket. The thunder followed its partner, rattling the windows and eliciting a shriek from his half-asleep bedfellow. Hikaru instinctively pulled her into his arms. He couldn't help but notice the differences between this and the last time he had helped Haruhi through a storm. The face of the girl turned, her eyes wide with terror, to see who held her.

"Hikaru?"

"Sorry, got the wrong room…" he blushed, but didn't move to let her go. She didn't seem too concerned about it.

She shook her head, the terror subsiding a little, "No, it's all right, but-" Thunder rumbled again, closer, louder. Haruhi's shriek was muffled as she hid her face in Hikaru's shoulder. He tightened his arms around her a little, resting his chin on the top of her head and inhaling the scent of her hair. Then he thought he heard something.

"Hmm?" he tilted her face up a little.

"Thank you."

"Anytime," he smiled a little, pulling the blanket around their sitting figures.

* * *

(1)Don't really know why I picked those scents. But for those who don't know, sandalwood is apparently expensive. I love the smell though, so that's what Kaoru smells like dagnabbit. :) 


	7. The Order

A/N:A little more fluff, some plot later, I promise. Again, I don't own them. Honestly, I'd settle for only owning Mori-sempai. Preeeeeeeetty. Haha, anyway, here you go. I tried to listen to people's comments and make the chapters longer and more descriptive. I hope I did a decent job.

* * *

As the storm died down, the thunder fading into the distance, brown eyes looked up into gold ones, "Hikaru?" 

"Mmm, yeah?" He had been staring off into space with a slightly dazed expression.

"I was going to ask…is everything ok with us?"

He almost jumped at that, looked and her worriedly, and said, "Of course. Why, was there something I…"

Haruhi looked down and smiled, shaking her head slightly. "I just wondered. When you didn't have an order after Dai Hin Min-"

"Sorry about that," he glanced out the window at the water dripping off dark green leaves, "I didn't mean to worry you." A thought popped into his head, and he smiled at his own recklessness, "I think I have a good idea for an order now."

Haruhi blinked, her head cocked to the side. Hikaru felt a lump form in his throat. Damn her big brown eyes…they made saying this about a thousand times harder.

"Erm…can I stay here?"

"That hardly sounds like an order," she grinned. Hikaru heard his pulse in his ears, wished she would just answer, "but I guess you can. I'm not explaining anything to Kaoru though." She lay down, shrugging the blanket over her shoulders. As she let out a little sigh and closed her eyes, Hikaru felt his cheeks on fire. As her breathing became more regular, his became more erratic, his heart beating out of time like the spastic kid on the drumline. He leaned over her smallish frame, "Haruhi?"

"Mmm?"

"I just…never mind."

"G'night Hikaru."

It was almost more than he could bear. The rhythmic rise and fall of her chest fascinated him. He wondered how anyone could mistake her for a boy, how anyone could _not_ want to pull them into their arms and-

No. He couldn't do that to her. Not while she was asleep. That was something perverts and crazy old men did when they got drunk. It was funny though, all the changes that came over her when she was asleep. She looked so much younger, and almost sad. He felt, in a strange way, guilty for seeing that. He couldn't for the life of him figure how Haruhi, practical, sensible Haruhi, had trusted him enough to fall asleep with him right next to her. It was a burden, that trust, and a little voice inside his head asked him what he'd done to earn it. Maybe staying with her through the storm counted for something, but it was still uncomfortable watching over his friend like a father-oh God, was this how Tamaki thought? No, Tamaki was insane. Hikaru was just in love.

Wait, did he just admit that to himself?

Yeah, he did. He was. And he was ok with that.

He lay down, facing away from Haruhi, and tried to go to sleep. That wasn't working. The drummer in his chest was still jumping around in need of some Ritalin**(1)**. He sighed, rolled over, and snaked his arms around Haruhi's waist.

"Huh? Hikaru, what're you-"

"Please?"

It startled Haruhi how much need was in that voice. Despite herself, she relaxed into those arms that had shielded her from the storm. She felt her eyes falling shut again when something else jolted her back to wakefulness.

Hikaru kissed the curve where her neck became her shoulder, breathing in the scent of cinnamon and coffee. The drummer calmed down a little. Haruhi rolled over, her eyes wide with astonishment. They fluttered closed when Hikaru's mouth brushed hers, so lightly she wasn't entirely sure it happened, "Hikaru, did you just-?"

His eyes looked into hers, as though seeking permission, approval, or something else. Something she was almost afraid to name. She answered those eyes when she kissed Hikaru back, scarcely more noticeable than the first.

The redhead gasped quietly, then flashed his signature Cheshire Cat grin. One hand slipped from her waist to tangle its fingers in her short brown hair. Red and brown strands crossed each other as lips pressed together, more insistent than before.

A few moments later, they broke for breath, and Hikaru smiled, kissing Haruhi on the nose. A small laugh escaped her throat, and the drummer fell back onto the grass, panting for breath and grinning from ear to ear.

"Haruhi," Hikaru whispered into the brunette's ear.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Hikaru felt a hand on his cheek, felt his face turned, and felt the girl kiss him hard. He took that as a good sign.

* * *

(1) I think Ritalin is a medication for ADHD. I'm not sure though, but for the sake of the story, let's pretend I'm right. :) 


	8. Gomen :

I am completely stuck you guys, I'm so sorry! So I figured maybe I'd take requests as to where this story should go. I could pick the one I think I could have the most fun with and the person who suggested it would of course get credit ('cause stealing is bad) and if they wanted, I could…I don't know, haha. But before you go, if you've got a little time, could you read the book I'm writing on a href" Press /b /a ? I like how it's coming, but I can always use helpful criticism.

Thanks so much you guys, seeing all the favouriting and reviewing and story-alert…ing really makes my day. :)


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